THE return of Monday night football, a twilight Saturday game and even double-header matches on Friday nights have emerged as considerations under an expanded 18-team AFL competition.

The league has constructed indicative fixtures for an 18-team competition based around the standard 22 rounds and a new 24-round home-and-away season.

The AFL has also commenced detailed negotiations with broadcasters about their preferences for what timeslots these additional games might best be played in.

The moves come as the AFL has transferred senior staff to the Gold Coast to assist the preliminary work for the introduction of the team there by 2011. Six additional staff will be employed soon to begin work on the new western Sydney team.

The AFL has still not ruled out players being taken from this year's national draft — possibly by an agreed pre-listing — and warehoused by the new franchises.

"We have done a fixture that shows a 17-team competition with 22 weeks and 24 weeks and it works," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said.

"We have done a fixture that has an 18-team competition with 22 weeks and 24 weeks. It has nine games in a round, it has a game at 5 o'clock on a Saturday or it has a game on a Monday night. And they all work and they … preserve the six-day break.

"We have physically got a fixture, a mock fixture of nine games a round over 22 and 24 weeks.

"So have we finalised anything? No, but we have done the work."

The AFL's chief broadcasting and commercial officer, Gillon McLachlan, said the additional game a round created new possibilities for the next broadcast deal.

"You have nine games, you have to find another slot for the ninth game," McLachlan said. "Two Friday night games can be difficult. What do the fans want and what do the television broadcasters want?"

Demetriou said the AFL would definitely still play three games at the Gold Coast next year and possibly a fourth game. He added that additional games might to be played in western Sydney in the next couple of years at ANZ Stadium.

McLachlan said the new stadium on the Gold Coast may not necessarily be at Carrara as the league was still exploring up to 10 other options, with several of them being seriously considered.

"We have always been keen to explore as many options as we can. At the Gold Coast, there are only a certain amount of places you can look at," Demetriou said.

"Carrara has been the preferred site, but we will look at any alternative we can … There's probably three or four we are looking at seriously."